This Week’s South Florida Deal Sheet: Bank OZK Lends $84M For West Palm Retail District
The first phase of the Nora District adaptive reuse project just north of Downtown West Palm Beach landed an $84M construction loan from America's most active construction lender.
The project's developers are West Palm Beach-based NDT Development, Miami-based Place Projects and Wheelock Street Capital, which has offices in Connecticut and Boston. Bank OZK originated the $84M construction loan, according to a release.
The debt from the Arkansas-based bank will finance 150K SF of new construction and adaptive reuse to convert hundred-year-old warehouses into retail destinations. The first phase of the project, running along North Railroad Avenue, includes nearly 100K SF of retail space and 55K SF of showroom or creative office space on the buildings’ second floors.
Construction began in June 2023 and is slated to finish in early 2025. It is the largest planned redevelopment in West Palm Beach since Related Cos.' CityPlace. The debt was arranged by a JLL team of Steven Klein, Brian Gaswirth and Mateo Bolivar.
Confirmed retail tenants for the first phase include Loco Taqueria & Oyster Bar, New York City’s H&H Bagels, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream and four other dining options, along with Sana Skin Studio, Hamptons-based clothing boutique Mint, The Spot Barbershop and boutique fitness brands Rumble and Solidcore.
The development group has spent years acquiring most of the properties along the 40-acre project site. Later phases are slated to include more retail and office space, a residential component and the 201-key Nora Hotel that was announced in March.
FINANCING
A joint venture of Wheelock Street and Foundry Commercial secured $52.3M in senior construction financing to build Egret Point Logistics Center in Boynton Beach, according to a release.
First Citizens Bank provided the debt, which will go toward converting the 31-acre site of a former Baptist Health System clinic at 3800 S. Congress Ave. into a 457K SF industrial development with two warehouses.
The borrower was represented by JLL’s capital markets and debt advisory team, which includes Klein, Bolivar and Melissa Rose. Wheelock and Foundry paid $38M for the site in March, using an entity called WSL South Congress Owners LLC, according to property records.
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Miami-based Pinnacle locked in a $50M construction financing package to build the second phase of Old Cutler Village, a mid-rise affordable housing community at 10455 Old Cutler Road in Cutler Bay, according to a release.
The financing includes $32.2M in tax credit equity from Bank of America, a $9.1M Freddie Mac first mortgage serviced by Berkadia, a $6M surtax loan from Miami-Dade County and equity from the developer.
It will go toward building a five-story, 120-unit apartment building catering to tenants earning up to 70% of the area median income, which sits at $79,400. Units range from one to three bedrooms, with delivery scheduled for October 2025.
The first phase of Old Cutler Village included 288 affordable apartments built in 2003, property records indicate. The site was purchased by a Pinnacle-controlled entity for $3M in May 2002.
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The Avery Dania East apartments were refinanced for $88M, less than a year after the 336-unit project delivered, according to a release. BlackRock Realty Advisors provided $80M, while another $8M came from a mezzanine partner, Multi-Housing News reported.
The bridge loan has a three-year term of interest-only payments. A Northmarq team based in West Palm Beach that includes David Gahagan, Chris Hammel and Chandler Kaye negotiated the financing package.
The project was developed as the second phase of The Avery Dania Point by Meyers-Accesso, a partnership between Aventura-based Meyers Group and Hallandale Beach-based Accesso Partners.
The Avery Dania East is in the master-planned Dania Pointe development at 120 N. Compass Way. The project includes 1M SF of retail and restaurant space, 500K SF of offices, six hotels and 600 rental units in Dania Beach.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Star Developers Group announced plans for a 23-story condo tower at 1817 Taylor St. in downtown Hollywood.
The One Hollywood Residences would include 248 fully furnished condos ranging from 517 SF to 1,425 SF. Each of the studio to three-bedroom units includes a terrace. Pricing starts at more than $400K, with Fortune Development Sales marketing the property.
Coral Gables-based BC Architects designed the tower, with interiors from Hallandale Beach-based Domus Aurea Interiors. Amenities include a resort-style pool, a rooftop garden, a fitness center, coworking spaces, a kids club and valet parking.
Star Developers Group has a U.S. office in Doral but has completed more than 1M SF of construction across Argentina, Spain and the United States. It is led by Alejandro Ensinck and is based out of Argentina.
The 36K SF lot was purchased for $6.7M in March 2022 by 1817 Taylor Development LLC, which is registered to a mailbox at a UPS Store in Boca Raton.
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Codina Partners has secured approval from Doral for its plan to build Sevilla at Downtown Doral, a seven-story apartment building on 4.2 acres at the corner of Northwest 53rd Street and 52nd Terrace.
Sevilla’s 412 units will range from 720 SF one-bedroom apartments to 1,708 SF apartments with three bedrooms. Construction is split into two phases and is expected to start this year. The first phase is planned to deliver in the second quarter of 2026, with the second delivering by the end of that year.
The property will have 16K SF of common areas and amenity space, including a resort-style pool deck, a Zen courtyard and pickleball courts.
Codina Partners, led by Armando Codina and his daughter, Ana-Marie Codina Barlick, are the master developers of the 250-acre Downtown Doral mixed-use community. The project includes two apartment towers, three condo towers, more than 40 stores and restaurants, single-family homes and townhomes, two charter schools and Doral’s government headquarters.
SALES
An entity connected to the recent seller of the planned Dolce & Gabbana tower site in Brickell paid $14M for a nearby 0.9-acre vacant parcel, according to property records from Vizzda.
Alphatur Inc., the same entity that sold the 888 Brickell site for $61M, purchased the vacant parcel at 1833-1859 SW Third Ave. from Le Venir Investments. The seller entity is managed by Jose Maria Carneiro da Cunha, who a LinkedIn profile indicates is a Miami-based founder of a Brazilian law firm.
Alphatur is led by Mashud Mezerhane, the head of Miami Beach-based Grupo Mezerhane. The Mezerhane family first rose to notoriety in the U.S. in 2011 when Nelson Mezerhane sued Hugo Chavez in a Miami court alleging the Venezuelan leader had illegally taken over his bank, Banco Federal.
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AMAC and Coral Gables-based Rovr Development paid $13.5M for a 6.2-acre site in Pompano Beach where the previous owner floated plans for a three-building apartment complex, according to records from Vizzda.
AMAC is led by Ivan Kaufman, the CEO of Arbor Realty Trust, and is part of the Arbor collection of companies.
Sentosa Pompano LLC, an entity tied to Boca Raton-based firms Encore Capital Management and Falcone Group, sold the property at 3151-3251 N. Federal Highway in a deal that included $8.5M in new debt from New York-based Maxim Capital Group.
Encore and Falcone had previously won approval for a development at the property that included three seven-story buildings and a parking garage. The proposal included 285 residential units ranging from studios to three bedrooms and 4K SF of commercial space.
Falcone paid $10.6M for the site in April 2022, property records indicate, after the site plan won approval.
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Two office buildings in Boca Raton known as The Greenhouse traded for $15.7M, according to a release.
Wigder Investment Group, led by Boca Raton City Council Member Marc Wigder, sold the 93K SF of office space at 5255 and 5301 N. Federal Highway. Bark Management, a Boca Raton-based developer, investor and property manager, was the buyer.
The offices sit on around 5 acres and are broken up into suites ranging from 150 SF to 5K SF. Occupancy is 96%. Douglas Mandel and Zach Levine in Marcus & Millichap’s Fort Lauderdale office represented Wigder.
